Since 2020, Envision Resilience has partnered with local community and climate leaders throughout the Northeast to run place-based design studios. Every partnership is unique, but each begins the same way: With a community willing to explore what a more resilient future could look like through the lens of design education.
Every community is different with its own existing priorities. Challenge programming starts with listening, and builds the capacity to advance priorities by bringing fresh perspectives—student and practitioner—to a shared process of investigation. As the convener, we:
Our model offers communities something traditional planning processes often cannot: The opportunity to explore possibilities before narrowing in on solutions. By bringing together students, educators, practitioners and local leaders, community partners gain fresh perspectives, expanded design thinking and a growing body of knowledge that can inform future planning and action.
We have seen the value of these partnerships and design studios extend beyond a single project. They build local capacity, strengthen regional relationships and contribute to innovative tools, forward-thinking policies and scalable solutions that communities across the country can learn from and build upon.
